Charter school principal arrested, accused of failing to report abuse
A principal of Orlando Science Charter School was arrested Tuesday, records show, accused of failing to report child abuse.
Abdulaziz Yalcin, 35, the school’s middle and high school principal, faces two third-degree felony counts, record show. He did not immediately return a call to a phone number listed in court records.
Records documenting the basis for the charges were not immediately made public. Yalcin was booked into the Orange County Jail about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and has since been released.
In a statement, the charter school said Yalcin had been “relieved of his duties.”
“The School has, and will continue, to cooperate with any requests for assistance from law enforcement,” the statement said. “Because this is an ongoing case, we cannot provide further comment at this time.”
The Orange County Clerk of Courts site listed March 23, 2019, as the date of Yalcin’s offenses.
During that same month, authorities have said that an employee of the charter school, Jaelen Alexander, was exploiting his position to solicit nude photos from boys at the school. Alexander was arrested in May 2019.
The investigation into Alexander began April 29, 2019, when a school-resource officer reported his behavior to the Orlando Police Department.
According to an investigative report, Alexander had started what he purported to be a mentoring group for students, but soon began preying on them, asking for photos of their genitals and sending photos of his own.
One student told police Alexander reached out to him on Snapchat and asked for nudes, offering $50 and help getting out of class in exchange.
Three students were identified by police as having received nude photos from Alexander, who was arrested on a slew of charges, including solicitation of a minor and unlawful communications, records show.